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Famous renaissance man from Sweden, Doctor of Medicine, botanist was approached by a political party called the Hat party in order to help Sweden develop into a manufacturing country, and grower of certain crops, both for profit and to help Sweden wean herself from foreign dependence.
Some of the original plans to make profitable projects included growing and processing tobacco, textile mills, and an attempt at pearl farming.
It seems that when touring in
Lapland , Linnaeus came upon pearl fishing; but, decided that this technique for gathering pearls was too costly. So he attempted to cultivated pearls in in the mid 1700’s, and he was successful.
Linnaeus drilled a hole in a freshwater mussel and inserted a wire with a round grain of sand attached to it. And onto the grain of sand a pearl developed.
In 1761, Linnaeus showed his creations to the Financial Committee in
Stockholm, . After having a jeweler saw the pearl in to two halves they were declared to be equal in value and quality to real natural pearls.
wanted to purchase the patents but was bought instead by a merchant named Peter Bagge. Bagge subsequently went blind and nothing ever became of ’s pearl culture.
Linnaeus pearl material is in the Linnean Society in
London, where it is in its various stages.
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